Gordon McIntosh

Gordon McIntosh is Chairman of Aberdeen International Associates Ltd (AIA) and a Director of Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group (AREG). He was appointed Director of Economic Development for Aberdeen City Council in 1995, and retired as Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure in 2016.
In 2016, he accepted, on approach from the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, to be their Deputy Minister of Natural Resources. In completing his term, AIA accepted a consultancy in early 2019 to provide energy advice to the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. A keen promoter of both the oil and gas, and renewable energy industries, he has been involved in many projects and programmes to develop a joint supply chain since 1997. He was responsible for the establishment of AREG, and projects he has been involved with include the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (Aberdeen Bay Wind Farm) of which he was a Director, and the Aberdeen Hydrogen Strategy including the Hydrogen Bus Project.

Gordon also holds an honorary Professorship from Robert Gordon University.

Jeremy Smith

Jeremy Smith, founded QED Naval in March 2008 and has raised nearly £2m to finance the Subhub project and manages business development. Jeremy is used to delivering large scale procurement projects in his previous role within the Structures’ Delegated Design Authority (DDA) on the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier project. This was built on over a decades’ involvement in marine structures R&D within the ship and submarine structures departments at QinetiQ and its forebears DERA and DRA.

Keith Murray

Keith Murray is an experienced director and renewable energy business leader, having developed and grown organisations, large infrastructure projects and led industry change.
As a degree qualified, chartered, quantity surveyor with a Master’s Degree in Infrastructure and Project Management, Keith has worked across renewable energy, construction, FM / BPO, and health sectors, leading change, developing large teams, taking them to good then great. With experience in renewable energy and construction, Keith has led, funded, and managed startups, M&A's, strategic transformations, turnarounds, and large capex projects. This has included the acquisition of Tocardo Turbines and the Netherland’s OTP/ Oosterschelde Dam (largest turbine array in world) and UK Biogas projects.

Dr. Corey Badger

Dr Corey C. Badger leads QED Naval’s hydrodynamics function, overseeing hydrodynamic loading analysis and development of the in‑house design tool TWEET. She brings advanced CFD expertise, supported by a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD focused on VoF modelling in OpenFOAM. Over seven years at QED Naval, she has expanded TWEET’s capabilities and led validation work at FloWave, strengthening design accuracy and contributing to improved hydrodynamic performance predictions across multiple project applications for clients.

Andrew Skocz

Andrew previously ran his own mechanical design consultancy alongside an engineering fabrication company he partnered in for over a decade. He is also a qualified auditor for quality assessments. At QED Naval, he leads mechanical engineering and production outputs for the next‑generation, industrial‑scale Subhub‑ID tidal platform. He applies strong analytical skills using the ANSYS Mechanical FEA solver and supports wider engineering requirements for Subhub and contributes to reliable, efficient system performance across projects for clients.

Venetia Roux

Venetia brings global experience and energetic drive to QED Naval, leading office operations, finance, HR, and commercial support to ensure seamless organisational performance. Originally from South Africa, with international experience including four years in the Middle East, she now calls Scotland home. With over ten years in administration and five in management, she strengthens company systems, collaboration, and strategic growth. Outside work, Venetia enjoys hiking with her husband and dog, photography, distillery trips, board games, and a braai.

Dr Magnus Bichan

Magnus leads the design of QED Naval’s Subsea Power Control Unit (SPCU), ensuring the pressure hull’s integrity and protecting the critical electrical and mechanical systems that control the platform at sea. He holds a BEng (Hons) in Aircraft Engineering and Design, an MSc in Renewable Energy, and a PhD in mechanical design and optimisation for offshore wind. His research spans wind and wave energy technologies and low‑carbon thermal systems. Outside work, Magnus is an avid runner and traditional Scottish folk musician.

Andrew Mills

Andrew supports QED Naval’s hydrodynamics team with a strong background in computational mechanics, specialising in fluid‑structure interaction analysis and the development and validation of the in‑house load‑modelling tool, TWEET. He holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering and a Master of Applied Science from the University of British Columbia, where he researched FSI under extreme hurricane loading. With experience in FEA and extensive CFD using OpenFOAM, he brings a versatile computational skillset. Outside work, Andrew enjoys skiing, skateboarding, sport climbing, and cheering on Toronto Blue Jays and Toronto Maple Leafs. Go Leafs Go!

Matthew Hodges

Matt plays a key role in overseeing projects, focusing on acquiring the data needed for analysis and modelling that supports the development of platform components and management systems. His responsibilities build on his earlier position at QED Naval as a tidal analyst, a role he began after completing his MSc at Bangor University. He continues to contribute expertise to tidal modelling whenever required. Matt’s work strengthens the company’s analytical capability and supports effective, data‑driven engineering across projects.

Lewis Waddell

Lewis is a Graduate Engineer at QED Naval, contributing to structural and mechanical engineering tasks across the company’s tidal energy projects. Now in his final year of an MEng in Mechanical Engineering at Heriot‑Watt University, he brings a strong academic foundation supported by practical industry experience. Having been part of QED Naval for over a year, he previously gained hands‑on engineering experience at FastBlade, strengthening his understanding of structural testing and offshore technologies. Outside work, Lewis enjoys hiking, swimming, and playing guitar.

Frederick Gibbs

Fred joined QED Naval in June 2023 as an IDCORE Research Engineer and is undertaking his EngD research with the company, focusing on the development of Tocardo’s electrical machines. After graduating from the University of St Andrews with an Integrated Masters in Physics, he joined the IDCORE programme to apply his skills to the renewables sector. Matched with QED during the programme’s selection event, he now contributes to turbine R&D, drawing on his experience in numerical modelling using MATLAB and Python.

Ariff Alzakri

Ariff is a Blade Analyst at QED Naval, supporting tidal turbine blade development through research and CFD analysis. He holds a Mechanical Engineering (Hons) degree from Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) and gained industry experience during an internship with MRCSB, a Petronas subsidiary. His final‑year CFD project on vertical‑axis wind turbines sparked his interest in renewable energy, leading him to join QED Naval while pursuing an Engineering Doctorate through the IDCORE programme. Outside work, Ariff enjoys basketball, table tennis, volleyball, and Brazilian Jiu‑Jitsu.

Dr Jack Challis

Jack specialises in modelling and analysing tidal current and elevation data, using the TELEMAC tidal model to support site assessment, data‑driven decisions, and future energy yield projections. He holds a BSc and MSc in ocean sciences from Bangor University and a PhD in physical oceanography from La Rochelle University, completed with BRGM and SHOM. Bringing deep expertise in tidal dynamics to QED, Jack enjoys playing guitar, gaming, and going to the gym outside of work.